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We have been on the road for a month already and time has flown by. We have traveled from Texas to Kentucky and lots of places in between. We still have a few more BBQ joints to head to and a couple more things to see. Our last stop and where we end this crawl will be at the American Royal in a couple of weeks. Its been a blast up to now with the crew who has been working hard.

Here is your very first look at BBQ Crawl coming this Spring 2013 on the Travel & Escape Channel produced by RTR Media. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think. Its my life on the road.

Yesterday was the cutoff date for submissions of videos for BBQ Pitmasters Season 3 !

The competition is really heating up for a spot on the hit show. Lots of great audition tapes posted to Youtube and Vimeo. Some are new faces and some are people you may have just seen before. Good Smoking Luck to all who applied!!

Deciding to change my logo was a very hard decision. I knew it was coming it was just a matter of time. I love my pig. I love the way she looks and I love her attitude and sass. For merchandising though she is not so great she is a complicated piggie. Sooo many colors and so much going on. I tried to streamline her. In the end though it was time for a change.

I had to define who what where and when all about Diva Q. I had to figure out where I was going to go with the logo. That lead me to having a couple of conversations with some folks who have logos I really like- Ray Lampe (Dr. BBQ) Jason Day ( Burnt Finger BBQ + BBQ Addicts), Darren (Smokey D’s) Joey Mac’s Smoke Stax, Dave Raymond (Sweet Baby Rays) and a few others. In addition I contacted some terrific people I know who excel at marketing in BBQ and other areas.

The entire process has been really all encompassing. Jason Day recommended a site called 99designs.com. It is a really interesting concept where you run a design contest. You decide how much your budget can handle. You write an entire summary about yourself or your Company and what your requirements are. Some of the designs were really out there. Some I wish I liked more because the designer put a lot of thought into the process. I made the decision to post some of the 240 design submissions I received on my facebook fan page. Some of the feedback was really helpful. I wanted to ensure that whatever logo I picked would be well received by both males and females. My target audience has always been both however at the end of the day Men are still the primary purchasers of BBQ items .

Also taking a look at myself I would never ever want to put a tiara or bling on anything. Thats just not me. I think of the Diva part of the name as being a woman that is really determined. That is me- determined to get better at BBQ. I never really associated it with the pink crown and tiara program. Also I wear black 100% of the time on the circuit and a lot at home too.

So here it is the new Diva Q logo. Its pretty straightforward. Simple, easy to read, recognizable and with just a bit of sass. Just like me.

Well I never made any secret of it. I made a DVD and am submitting it to BBQ pitmasters today. I have no clue if I fit the bill or if I will get to be on it but I at least can say I tried. Its better to have tried and failed then never to have tried at all. Who knows if they want a mom of 3 from the suburbs. I don’t come from a BBQ background. I didn’t grow up in the South. I didn’t even try really great BBQ until a few short years ago. Plus theres that whole I am a Canadian Chick in the pits thing. Oh and seriously I don’t look a model. I don’t own a jambo. I use pellets and charcoal. I don’t have a fancy schmancy rv. I sleep on a military cot in my bare bones yet functional cargo trailer. Hmmm. Oh well. At the end of the day no one knows if they have what they are looking for. This I do know for sure. I can talk well on TV. Cameras don’t scare me, I am unlike anyone else out there and I know I make some really damn fine BBQ. I hope all my BBQ friends have submitted tapes. goodness knows there are a whole lot of really interesting personalities out there.

Over the last two weeks I have received tons of emails and talked to lots of BBQ folk about the new season. The responses are really varied. Some are very cynical and state they think JM already has his picks and he is doing this to keep people off his back. Others say this is just a ploy to get more attention. Personally I don’t really care one way or another. I think its a good idea to ask for submissions. Makes sense to me.

Additionally some people have stated they hate the new format already. Um I am not sure I understand this since none of use really know what exactly the new format is. Right now its just a bunch of talk. A bunch of guesses.Seriously Ill reserve judgment for when I actually see the new format.

This is what was posted from John Markus Exec Producer BBQ Pitmasters:

It’s official. Our new format features FOUR different pitmasters competing in EACH episode. We are looking to augment our cast from last season and welcome all interested cooks to throw their aprons in the ring. Send your audition tape/DVD, selling us on why you should be picked to compete against the best. To: Lindsay Freed c/o Original Media, 38 E. 29th St., 8th FL, NY, NY 10016. Or, you can email a file of your audition to bbqpitmasters@originalmedia.com. Send your ?’s there as well. Shooting schedule April 30th – June26th. Good luck and see you on the trail!

Then there are a few posts from JM on Twitter:
It’s official. BBQ Pitmasters Season #2 picked up by TLC. Will be posting info on casting within the hour here and on various BBQ forums.
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Audition tapes/DVDs, under 5 min! Sell us on you/your team! Lindsay Freed c/o Original Media, 38 E. 29th St. 8th FL. NY, NY 10016. GetGoin’!
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Or, send a file of your audition to bbqpitmasters@originalmedia.com Shoot schedule runs from April 30 – June 27. Send ?’s there as well.
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Going over the schedule for Pitmasters 2. Dammit man, we’re putting the miles on. But I can truly say, we’ll be at an event near you!
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To all those hopefuls vying for a place on Pitmasters 2: BBQ Skills + Personality + Showmanship + Authenticity. In under five minutes!
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Submissions for Pitmasters now arriving in waves. You ladies who ‘Q, & I’ve seen all y’all, jump in already! Starting to screen tomorrow.
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Screened all day. To all you cooks about to make audition tapes–ladies, ya listenin?–Don’t just tap the bell. RING the bell! (Mel Brooks)
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Saw some real keepers 2day. Hate 2 B a tease, ‘Q’rs, but a few of U hit it outa the park. (Okay, I luv the tease part–sorry). Want more!
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TLC is hoping to add some sizzle to its freshman cooking reality series BBQ Pit Masters by changing its programming recipe from a docu-reality show to a competition-based series for its second season.

The series, which followed the exploits of several barbeque cooking experts, averaged 900,000 total viewers and posted double digit increases for the network among male viewers during its first season, which ended last month.

The new season will feature a weekly competition between several chefs, with each weekly winner eventually squaring off against each other in the final episode, according to TLC officials. The show will feature BBQ Pit Masters stars such as Myron Mixon and Le Ann Whippen in “some capacity” on the show, said TLC officials.
BBQ Masters joins Cake Boss, Ultimate Cake Off and Cupcake Sisters as cooking-related shows on the Discovery Communications-owned network this year.

Overall I think no matter what its just more exposure for competition BBQ and really I think thats whats most important. Get it out there to more of the public. Let them know how much fun it is. How great the people are.

Well we woke up in Memphis this morning. Thankfully without a hangover from last night.

Yesterday we started driving from Barrie Ontario Canada and we pulled up here in Memphis about 25 hours after we started. Now its only a couple more hours till we get to Little Rock Arkansas.

Yesterday being St. Patrick’s Day it was fun to see the festivities at Silky O’ Sullivan’s on Beale St. It was a lot of fun to watch the festivities.Then we headed back to Pig On Beale. Still terrific food, fun staff, and great atmosphere. If you go to Memphis make sure you go eat there.

My husband really wanted some Memphis BBQ since he didn’t come on the trip last month. I was craving a steak. Had to cave to his request. Really it wasn’t much of a cave. Vlad is one of the most incredible people on the planet. He goes out of his way to do everything he can to support my BBQ habit/obsession/career. He really enjoyed his BBQ feast. Plus he had enough leftovers to do at least 2 more meals today LOL.

One of the highlights of this trip besides seeing everyone will be seeing My Sister in Smoke Angie Quaale. She is flying in today from BC to hang with us this weekend. That is awesome. So happy she is coming. Last year my friend Tim Brown from Can’t Stop Grilling came with us. His team is the only other Canadian team that will be in Little Rock this year. I plan on doing everything I can to beat him.

So we are off to do the final leg of our journey to compete in Little Rock Arkansas. There are 225 teams that are competing for $100,000.00 in prizes. I sure hope the Olympic Own the Podium program applies to Competitive BBQ’ers as well. I believe. LOL I can barely type that without cracking up. OK in reality I believe that I will do my best. I believe that- if I can- out of this entire trip – be proud of my turn in boxes, and get a call that would be cool. But I can dream. Hell yeah. I can dream.

There is going to be a Season 2 of BBQ Pitmasters!!!

Confirmed with John Markus today : Our new format features FOUR different pitmasters competing in EACH episode. We are looking to augment our cast from last season and welcome all interested cooks to throw their aprons in the ring!!! Great news for all those guys and gals who want to be on the show. Here is how you can apply! Good luck to all those who send in their DVD’s!